This project was undertaken to better understand the fate of California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis) after being oiled and rehabilitated.

In May 2015 a pipeline ruptured, spilling crude oil into the surf on Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara County. Many birds and marine mammals were affected by the spill, and an extensive response was mounted. Close to 70 oiled birds were captured, most of them brown pelicans. Twelve of the 42 brown pelicans that were released after oiling, washing, and rehabilitation were outfitted with satellite GPS tags, and an additional 8 unoiled pelicans were captured and tagged as controls. We compared the movements, distance traveled, and presence in breeding colonies of the rehabilitated and control birds over the following years.